Burning Desire For FIRE

Financially Independent, Retired Early(ish) at 57.

Category: The ‘why’ of FI. (Page 4 of 25)

Day 5: The Ghan/Uluru/Darwin. The King’s Canyon Rim Walk.

September 6, 2024 / / 7 Comments

I got up before the alarm at 5:15 AM. I knew I wanted to be first there for breakfast at 6, so that I could have time to get myself ready for this walk. We were leaving at 6:45 – no waiting for any stragglers! The sun was rising as we set off for King’s Canyon, all of us carrying at least 2 litres of water with us.

I know I try a lot of things when I’m on holidays, but this one wasn’t a slam dunk by any means. This is a walk that is definitely an achievement, almost a badge of honour for having completed it. It’s marked as VERY DIFFICULT on lists of walks, so I wasn’t sure if I could do it.

The main area of difficulty is the first 500 steps. They’re practically vertical up a cliff face and they’re not man-made. They’re made from the natural rocks, so they are all differents sizes, depths and heights. You have to concentrate on every step. Not just with the first 500 steps, but with EVERY step you make on this 4 hour walk. It’s intense.

This is an action shot of Colin on the right, saying, “See that horizontal ridge? That’s the first 200 steps. We’ll stop there and make sure everyone is right to go on. Remember, once you take that 201st step, you’re committed. There’s no going back.”

The next 200 steps were near the top of the hill, with the final 100 steps curving around to the back. I don’t know about you, but that ridge looked. long way up…

When we got closer, we saw the steps. Zoom in on them. There’s no way anyone can mindlessly do this walk. You have to be conscious of where you place your feet every single step.

And yes. Heart Attack Hill was BRUTAL.

I took my time and let people pass me, pretending to be polite when really, I was trying to catch my breath. I had to take it slow and steady because the cardio is insane.

At the 200 steps, all of us elected to continue and we all made it to the top. Fabulous view!

Personally, I was proud that I made it to the top without needing the emergency defibrillator.

At the top of the canyon, there’s space for a helicopter to land if they need to evac someone out. There’s also a big store of medical gear here too.

It’s not just heart attacks. People have fallen from here, broken bones or sprained ankles etc. There are 4 defibrillators along the track, along with two-way radios to let the park rangers know if there’s an emergency.

After we had a drink – small sips only to let your body absorb the water! Lots of small sips along the way! – we started making our way along the top of the canyon.

Here’s Colin telling us about this narrow pass.

“You’ve all heard of the movie ‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert? Well, when they were filming out here they brought the cast and crew here for a tour. For some reason, they named this ‘Priscilla’s Crack’ and it’s a thing on Instagram for the kids to stand, one foot on either side, hold their arms up and shout, “I’m in Priscilla’s Crack!”‘

Can’t let the kids have all the fun…

I’m pretty sure that the white you can see is the car park with all the buses.

Zoom in on this one and you’ll see that the cliffs on the left look as if they’ve been sliced by a knife, like a slice of cheesecake.

We saw ghost gums in the most precarious of places. The sandstone cliffs act like a big sponge, absorbing any rain that falls. The trees’ roots can slide between the rocks and the tree happily grows.

Look at these rocks. They prove that all of this was once under the sea, just like the lines we see on the beach in the sand. Incredible.

At last! The first sign that we were getting near The Garden of Eden.

Man-made steps, too. Fancy!

This is the first view of The Garden of Eden that I saw. I was a little disappointed, to be honest. Then, once I was down the bottom of the stairs, I turned around and saw this:

Look at the clarity of the reflection! This was a wonderful spot.

We sat here for a while, eating a snack and taking more small sips of the water.

This is almost at the mid point of the walk.

Erosion is weird sometimes.

This is where our group split up. One woman had an elevated heart beat or something, so Colin went back to check on her and give her some hydrolytes. Some of us decided to push on. It was about 10 AM by then and the sun was getting hotter. Most of the walk is in full sun, so we wanted to get while the going was good.

Frank is in the green shirt. I followed behind him like a little duckling for the rest of the walk.

Funnily enough, we were back on flat land at the car park and I almost rolled my ankle. After doing that whole walk!

Speaking of doing the walk, would I do it again?

No. I was getting over it fo the last third and I was starting to fantasise about there being a secret lift down, that everyone who takes the walk signs a vow od silence so that all newcomers don’t know about it until they reach it.

Yeah. That didn’t happen.

I NEVER want to do the 500 steps again. It was hard. Even Frank said that this was the hardest walk he’s ever done,and he willingly goes on walks all around the world.

But I’m extremely glad I chose to do it. I’m proud of the achievement that a tubby, stubborn woman from Melbourne can do.

Tomorrow we leave for Uluru. And it’ll be my birthday!

(Funny thing – Mum left a voicemail TODAY, wishing me a happy birthday. It was only her and I there at the time… you’d think she’d remember the date!! Haha.)

Dad joke of the Day:

Day 4: The Ghan/Uluru/Darwin. Standley Chasm and Ormiston Gorge.

September 5, 2024 / / 4 Comments

Look at the colours of the rocks up above Standley Gorge. This was my first hint that I might be going to see something special.

First off – crisis averted! My bus buddy is Eve, a lovely woman from Canberra. She’s had an interesting life, having done farming, truck driving (she can back up a semi!) and all sorts of other jobs. I’m so relieved I won’t be stuck 24/7 making awkward conversations with Jill.

Anyway, let’s get back to Standley Gorge. When I went on the camel ride, Isabella from Brazil came here to the chasm. It was in the afternoon, so maybe that was why she wasn’t all that thrilled with it when she came back. So I hopped off the bus this morning with LOW expectations.

(You know, sometimes that’s the best thing, isn’t it? You sometimes get an amazing surprise, which is what I received.)

I should have felt in my waters that it would be good because Standley Chasm is named for a teacher – Ida Standley (1869 – 1948).

She was the first teacher in Alice Springs, and she was ahead of her time in suggesting that maybe it would be good if the black and white kids all sat in the same classrooms at the same time, instead of white kids being taught in the morning and the Indigenous kids in the afternoon.

It didn’t happen, of course, the White Australia policy being what it was.

But she was greatly loved in the area and so this place was named in her honour.

The rocks look like the bark of the trees. This was down by the path in the shade.

The cliffs on the right side of the path were a pale apricot colour like this. Absolutely beautiful, but the light wasn’t right to capture how they looked. The left side of the path was catching the morning sun.

Like this. Isn’t it incredible?

It was so quiet. I could hear a bird chirping and eventually I found it. It was some sort of honey eater. I stood for a while and watched it fly from blossom to blossom.

I haven’t used any colour enhancements. The rocks are exactly like this when the sun hits them. It’s just amazing. The oranges and yellows are intense.

The Chasm itself has a flat, easy track which winds its way along a creek until the end. Unlike most of the rivers we’ve seen here, which are upside down, this one actually has water in some places that you can see.

The group spead out along the walk, so no one was in anyone else’s face. It was quiet and calm, which made it easy to stroll along and soak in the beauty.

Here’s the entrance to the Chasm itself.

I was halfway in, looking back the way I’d come.

Here’s the end. The water in this pool is very cold, as no sunlight touches it. Merrilyn put her hand in it, then a few minutes later put her fingers against my cheek. They were still icy cold.

Turning back towards the path back to the bus, where morning tea awaited us.

I absolutely loved this place.

On the way to Ormiston Gorge, some of us were lucky enough to see a small flock of budgerigars keeping pace beside the bus for a few moments before they swooped away. They were iridescent green and it was so exciting. My brother used to breed them in a large aviary in the backyard when we were kids and now I’ve seen them in the wild.

I have Eve to thank for pointing out the windw for me to see them. I was looking in the wrong direction.

I also have Eve to thank for giving me a lot of very practical advice about my trip wending my way down to the Snowy Mountains after I drop the Ligas off in November. As I mentioned, at one stage Eve was a truckie and she drove along these roads up in the Top End.

She seems to have no doubt that I can do this – which gives me a lot of confidence – and she knows where I should stay and how I can make the car and me safer as we’re travelling. We had a really interesting conversation as the bus drove along.

We also saw BRUMBIES! Ever snce I read ‘The Silver Brumby’ and the rest of the series as a child, I wanted to see one. Today was certainly the day for catching up with childhood things.

Ormiston Gorge was ok, but it was the walk up the cliffs that was the most important part.

“If you’re considering doing the Rim Walk at King’s Canyon tomorrow, then this walk will be a good test to see if you can make it,” said Colin.

Hmmm… I was thinking about tackling this, but because I’m fat and unfit, I wasn’t sure if I could make it. I decided to give Ormiston Gorge a crack.

As you can see, I made it. I found that if I stopped when I started to get out of breath and let my heart rate and breathing calm down, then I was good to go. The first little bit of the walk was steep, but in what seemed like no time, I was up on the lookout with the rest of the group.

I’d brought a towel and my bathers, but I decided not to go swimming. The water was cold and only the Tasmanians said that it was ok. I climbed a mountain today. Let that be enough!

We stayed up there for a fair while. Tracey, the bus driver, climbed up to join us, while Colin was back at the bus putting together lunch.

I spotted the first fly net of the trip! You can either wear them over or under your hat. I’ve noticed that tourists from other countries are wearing them most. Honestly, for Aussies, the flies so far have been pretty good. You have to do the occasional ‘Aussie Salute’ but so far, I’ve been happy to keep my Ghan fly net in reserve.

After lunch Eve, Janet and I walked down to the waterhole to take a closer look. Janet is the other solo traveller and she’d great value. Very positive and upbeat all the time. The three of us climbed down the hill together before lunch and although she has a dicky knee, she worked around it and kept up the pace while carrying on a lively conversation.

The wattles are starting to bloom. We used to have one in our back yard when we were kids and when they bloom, you know that spring is here.

Here’s what we found. It actually has a sandy beach, though the water looked a bit murky, to be honest.

Here’s Eve, communing with nature. It is a very beautiful spot. I can imagine that when the weather gets very intense, this would be a fabulous place to spend the day and cool off.

On the way back to the bus, I heard a ‘peep peep’ sound. I instantly knew what it was. There were wild Zebra Finches hanging around near a tap, taking a drink. Along with the budgies, my brother also had Zebra Finches. They make a sound that is unforgettable.

Not-so-fun fact: You can’t keep Budgies and Zebra Finches in the same aviary. The Budgies don’t like them and they bite their legs off. We didn’t experience this back in the day. Simon was told that when he wanted to get the finches, so Dad built a new aviary for them. Thank god we avoided that trauma!

On our journey to the King’s Canyon resort, we passed by Gosses Bluff. This is the remnants of a meteor impact, which took place millions of years ago, “on Wednesday afternoon at 4 o’clock,” said Tracey.

The interesting thing about this is that the scientific and indiginous explanations are very similar.

Scientifically, a meteor composed of ice and gas crashed into the Earth, raising up this huge crater from the ground with the impact. The meteor was absorbed by the earth that it hit.

The Indiginous story is that the North and South stars had a baby, and it fell from the sky into a huge cradle. The baby disppeared under the earth an when we see the North and South stars, they’re looking for their baby.

Pictured from above, it looks very much like a cradle, doesn’t it?

Before we got here, Tracey gave a talk painting the King’s Canyon Rim Walk as being extremely challenging. Lots of scrambling around on hands and knees to get over cliff faces etc. I began to feel that maybe I was ging to attempt something that was too hard for me, especially when I heard that ‘Heart Attack Hill’ right at the start isn’t 300 steps as I thought … it’s 500. Yikes.

I had a quiet chart with Colin at Gosses Bluff and he asked if I had any knee or hip problems.

“No,” I said. “I’m just fat and unfit.”

We decided that I should give it a go. They take people up the first 200 steps and if they realise that it’s too much for them, they go down and join the rest of the group for an easy creek walk a couple of days later. That seemed fair and reasonable to me.

Though once I start something, I like to finish it…

When we arrived at the resort, we checked in. My room has two queen beds, so I have OPTIONS. (Or as James from Ireland would probably say… “Notions.”)

We had a great night. There are enough lovely people here to dilute the one who irritates me, so I’ll just do the dance of avoidance.

Tomorrow is the Rim Walk. We have to ge up before the crack of dawn to get there in time to get most of it done before the sun gets too hot.

Wish me luck!

Dad joke of the Day:

Day 3: The Ghan/Uluru/Darwin.

September 4, 2024 / / 4 Comments

After I finished yesterday’s post, I decided to go and visit the School of the Air.

The School of the Air was started in the 50’s, bringing education to the children living on far-flung properties across the Northern Territory. The woman who started it was a teacher and she realised that if the mothers on these cattle stations didn’t give their kids an education, then they simply didn’t get one.

We all found out during the COVID lockdowns how rare it is to find a parent eager to take on their children’s education! It was the same back then.

I found this tour fascinating. I was the only one there, so I suppose I had a very personalised experience, which is fine by me!

When it started, the classes were all done by radio. The first classes were done by a teacher talking into a microphone and broadcasting to a particular cattle station or roadhouse. She had no way of knowing if the kids were fighting, listening, or if they were even there!

(The following photos are all “quilts.” They give the kids a theme, and the kids make their patch at home and bring it with them when they come into Alice Springs for one of their social weeks. They put the “quilt together as a group. )

When the two-way radio came in, things became a lot better. One of the women I was talking to was a teacher during this time. She said that if she couldn’t hear a particular student, she’d ask the other kids if they could hear him. If someone said yes, then they’d relay what the teacher said, and if the ‘silent’ kid had a question, he’d ask his mate and he’d relay the question to the teacher and the answer to the student.

Nowadays, it’s all run by satellite, which is subsidised by the NT government. It’s much more flexible, meaning that if the parents want to dig a bore, for example, they’ll take the kids and tutor with them. When it’s time for the face-to-face lesson, the kid will log on, have the lesson, then go back and help the parents and do the schoolwork when they get home.

Kids living on trucks or travelling around Australia also benefit from the flexibility.

(This ‘quilt ‘ was made from metal. The kids had to design a patch showing what their home produced.)

Each family has to have a tutor. Sometimes it’s one of the parents, but most families hire one. Each child has half an hour face-to-face with their teacher each day. The rest of the time, they’re working through material that is mailed to them every two weeks.

The socialisation of these kids is looked after as best they can. Four times a year they all come together in Alice Springs. The kids get to see their friends in real life and interact with them. They get taught swimming, they perform plays and generally have a good time. Most of them won’t go to a “regular” school until year 10 when they’ll board in Alice Springs or interstate.

(I liked this one the best. It’s the kids from a local police station, and they’ve put handcuffs on it!)

Having taught through the first two lockdowns in 2020, I know how hard the teachers must work to make the classes interesting and engaging. It sounds like an easy gig, but it certainly wouldn’t be.

As we were talking, I mentioned that after I drop the Ligas off at Uluru on their Crazy Road Trip, I was thinking that maybe I’ll come up to stay in Alice Springs for a couple of days.

The woman I was talking to lit up. She’s now sold me on the idea of going to the Alice Springs Desert Park. David Attenborough rates it as one of the 5 best parks of its type and he’s visited it twice. I’m thinking I could do some walks, see the Park, then go home.

This is where my life may have changed. This woman suggested that I drive up to Tennant Creek, then turn right, head across for a bit, go down through Dubbo and instead of going home, go straight to my Snowy Mountains holiday.

Hmmm….

At 3 PM, we all met up for the beginning of the Red Centre part of the tour. Unfortunately, we’re a full bus of around 20 people, so I’m going to have to share my seat with someone else. There are 4 solo women travelling, so we’ll work it out.

We were taken to see John Flynn’s grave. His ashes are buried under this rock.

John Flynn began the Royal Flying Doctor Service and by doing so, he saved countless lives in the Northern Territory and beyond. He had the idea for ages, but was spurred on by the story of what happened to a guy called Jim Darcy in 1917.

Jim was an aboriginal stockman who was thrown by his horse when there was a cattle stampede. He was badly trampled. His mates took him to the nearest house and they radioed Perth for help. 2 doctors were servicing the whole of Western Australia at that time, and both were busy. Not surprising… have a look at the map of Australia and see how big WA is.

His mates suspected that he had internal injuries such as a ruptured bladder, so they decided to operate.

The local postmaster did the honours, with his mates holding him down, because there was no anaesthetic. The postman sewed up what he could, and they waited for the doctor to come. This only prolonged the inevitable, and Jim Darcy died 2 weeks later, a day before the doctor finally arrived.

Can you imagine??

The School of the Air used the same tech as the Flying Doctors. Both services changed life in the Outback from then on. People were no longer quite so isolated.

When Flynn died in 1951, he requested to be buried in the Outback. People went to the Devils Marbles to grab a rock. Later, when Land Rights started to become a thing, there was a huge stink kicked up because the Devils Marbles is a sacred site and so the rock might be sacred. There was a lot of argy-bargy, but in the end, sanity prevailed. They took the rock back, went outside the sacred site and chose another one that looked identical. This is the rock we see today.

Flynn is on the $20 bill, not that we see too much “real” money nowadays.

After a swing by Anzac Hill, which I saw yesterday, we went back to the hotel. The people on the tour seem nice, so I’m optimistic about the fun we’ll have. Tomorrow is a WALKING DAY, with Stanley Gorge and Ormiston Something-Or-Other, so my time in the walking group with Blogless Sandy will come in handy.

Guess what Tracey the bus driver said to us?

In a climate like this, if you’re walking you should be drinking a LITRE of water an HOUR.

omg

Also, just over one of the ranges is Pine Gap, the US Intelligence base. The tour guide, Colin, said “It’s a very well-maintained base. Whenever you meet someone from there, they’re always a gardener or a janitor or something like that. No one ever seems to have a job that actually involves army intelligence!”

***

I thought I was finished for today, but I’ve just come back from dinner.

OH MY GOD HELP ME NOW!

There are 4 solo women. I had dinner at a table with one of them, while the other two were at another table.

Jill is the most vapid, boring woman I’ve come across in a month of Sundays.

Stupid, too. She was talking about all sorts of racist stuff about her Chinese Great Grandfather WHILE WE WERE SHARING A TABLE WITH TWO THAI/AMERICANS. For goodness sake – read the room, lady!

Kill Me Now. The other two women looked like they were bonding beautifully.

My problem is that the bus is full, so the 4 single ladies will have to sit next to someone. If I have to sit next to Jill for the next 6 days, I won’t be a happy camper. My only hope is that I suggest that we rotate sharing seats, so I only have to deal 1:1 with her for a couple of days, not the whole trip.

Ugh. Just venting. It was awful. The only good thing was that she went to bed early, so we three had a great talk after she left. They’re a father and son – the wife/mother died 6 months ago so they’re travelling together to give the Dad something to do that’s positive. I love that they’re doing a father/son experience. It should be a THING, like a rite of passage. They clearly love each other – it was good to see.

But I think it won’t be too long before I’ll be actively avoiding Jill.

Dad joke of the Day:

Day 2: The Ghan/Uluru/Darwin.

September 3, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Just me and my mate having a laugh.

But I’m getting a bit ahead of myself. I had to publish the last post before the day was finished because we were getting to NO INTERNET places.

I had a fantastic time on the Ghan and it was all down to the people I met there. Let’s face it, there’s not a lot to look at outside, This next shot was taken from my cupboard cabin during the day:

… so it was what was happening inside the train which made all the difference. To prove this, there was a couple I met from Platinum Class who felt unwelcome there, so they came down to Gold Class with us and were having a fine old time.

When I got back to my cabin after dinner and drinks, this was what awaited me:

The bed was comfy enough, but I didn’t have the best night’s sleep. The train’s movements were erratic and being in a car where there were shared toilets and bathrooms, every. time someone went to the loo in the middle of the night and let the door bang… annoying.

I don’t know if I’m the only one who does this, but when I know I have to wake up early for something, I tend to wake up every hour or so to check the time. Even though the girl looking after our carriage promised she’d knock on the door at 5:45, my brain still made me check.

So why the early start? We were getting up to watch an Outback sunrise.

When the time came, we got off the train and made our way to where the coffee was being served. There weren’t as many people there as I would have thought, considering the number of passengers on the train.

Here you can see Marla siding, with people queueing for coffee and standing around one of the fires.

Before we got off the train, we saw a fire engine go past. Safety first!

So this was what we started with.

Some people ask others to take photos for them. I, as you know, usually take selfies.

Remember how Rhoda from the Canada trip taught me how to take panorama shots? Can’t waste that knowledge.

Once the sunrise was over, I went back to my cabin. I’d been coffeed and fed with a bacon and egg slider, and I wanted to see if I could get some sleep before the train started up again. As it was, I slept for two solid hours and woke up feeling great!

It was a bit of a thrill to pass across the border into the Northern Territory. I’ve never been here before. (Only one more state to go… WA.)

Isabella from Brazil was over the corridor from me. The poor thing. She’s only 31 and had hopped on a train full of geriatrics! She is a doctor and is living in Sydney for a year to get a bit more experience in her field. Her plan was to leave the Ghan at Alice Springs and make her way to Uluru for a few days.

Our trips will overlap, so we’re hoping to catch up at the Rock. I’m hoping for her sake that she finds a younger crowd at Uluru so she can have more fun.

I tell you what The Ghan has SERVICE. I tried to find a fly net for my hat in Melbourne and couldn’t get one for love or money. Here? I mentioned it and Kylie pulled one out from behind the bar.

“Here, take it,” she said.

I was so happy.

Camel ride time!

Naturally, as an inexperienced horse and camel rider, I was placed on the biggest and widest camel. All you have are stirrups for your feet and a metal arch to hold on to.

For the first ten minutes, I was hanging on like grim death. The guy in front of me was hands-free, merrily taking videos and drinking from his water bottle like a big show-off, while I was stuck, thighs gripping the camel and my hands gripping onto the arch.

Then I realised that my phone was slipping out of my pocket. That distracted me. I grabbed it, then took a few quick photos of my surroundings.

Haha!

When I said they were quick, I meant it. Look at the angle. I was still too nervous to let go and properly feel the rhythm of the camel.

I got better as we went along, though.

It was a harch place in some ways, but when the Welsh woman on the camel behind us stopped yapping about how calm and peaceful it was… well, then it was.

At the halfway point we stopped and the woman leading the camels took photos for us, using our phones. We ambled our way back to the camel farm, where we had refreshments and then we were driven back to town.

On the way, we were taken to Anzac Hill, the highest point in Alice Springs.

Here’s a panorama shot of Alice Springs. The town is built inside a bowl, with two mountain ranges pretty much enclosing it. All of this was once under the sea. Now it’s in the middle of a continent. Isn’t it incredible?

When I got back to the hotel, I walked into my room and got a hell of a surprise:

I wasn’t expecting anything to be on my bed, so when I first saw this out of the corner of my eye, I let out an involuntary “Ahhh!”

Upon closer inspection, it looked like a wedding cake. Was I in the right room? The last time I was in a bridal suite was 37 years ago!

Then I found this on the table.

How nice! My birthday isn’t for another 4 days, but hey. I’m not complaining. Let the birthday celebrations begin!

While I was eating my fruit platter and chocolates, I messaged Georgia. Apparently, Melbourne had cyclone-strength winds and the power has been out for hours.

I guess Fortunate Frogdancer strikes again. I’m at the Hilton.

Now that I’ve finished this, I’m off to take a look at Alice Springs.

Dad joke of the day:

Day 1: The Ghan/Uluru/Darwin.

September 1, 2024 / / 4 Comments

This is just before I set off to the station. I’m saying goodbye to two VERY unimpressed dogs. I’m experimenting by using a backpack instead of my leather satchel bag as my everyday bag. (So far, I’m not loving it…)

I took a room in the Novotel at Tullamarine because my flight to Adelaide left at 6:30 AM. Even with doing this, I underestimated the time it would take to get from the hotel room to the plane. By the time I’d walked the length of the airport and got through security, time was a’ticking.

I looked at the board and my flight was marked as LAST CALL. Now I’m no athlete, but I RAN to the gate. I got there just before the gate was closed. omg. If I missed that flight, I would have probably missed the train.

Lesson learned. From now on, I’m flying over the night before.

It’s almost 5 PM in Juneau Alaska, where Megan and I were only a couple of months ago, so it’s perfectly fine to have a glass of bubbles at 10 AM here in Adelaide.

So far, I’ve only seen one young person here. She looks like she’s travelling with her grandmother. Everyone else who has black or brown hair is using hair dye. This is NOT a cheap trip.

Naturally, when I got to the terminus for the Ghan, I was 3 hours early and the first one here. They welcome everyone with music, bubbly and good cheer. They make it a celebration.

The Ghan is 648 m long and the trip from Adelaide to Darwin is 2900 and something kilometres. It’s an iconic trip to take in Australia, being on many people’s bucket lists. No wonder they welcome people with open arms – it’s very special.

The single cabins are located on the last two carriages on the train. I laughed when I opened the door to my “cupboard.” It looks like Harry Potter’s room under the stairs. I took one step when I had my back pressed up against the table and I was in the hall. It’s tiny.

Behind the door is a little basin, with individual toiletries. I was so happy! I love bringing home those little soaps and shampoos and they’re hardly to be found in Australia anymore.

I have to share toilets and showers with the rest of the carriage. Not ideal, but it’s only for a couple of nights. Most of the time I’m staying in hotels with 5 star luxury.

This is the lounge car, where people go to socialise. I met a lovely girl from Brazil in the cabin opposite mine. She’s 31 and is a doctor. She’s using her holidays from a hospital in Sydney to travel to Alice Springs in the Ghan, before splitting off and heading to Uluru. We headed off here to have a drink and a chat.

While we were there, we met Beverley and Janine, who live very near me, as it turns out. Small world and all that.

Here’s one for the foodies. We’re not going to starve.

Isabella and I shared a table at lunch with Marissa and Suresh, all four of us solo travellers. Suresh and I stayed back after lunch for a long chat, which was nice as the salt bush plains swept past us outside.

We talked about Financial Independence and our plans for inheritances for our kids. He’s got a far bigger pot than I do, but we both had similar ideas on what we plan to do.

He originally comes from Kenya and when I said I was going there next year, he mentioned that there are flamingos there.

Imagine!

Flamingos!

The pressed tin in the dining room was a nice little nod to the past.

So far, I’m having a good time. The people here are very warm and friendly and are perfectly ready to have a chat, unlike the people on the Irish tour. I met two couples from Tassie while we were waiting to board, and they’ve taken the same long trip that I have, so I’ll be bumping into them again. They’re in the Platinum part of the train, so we probably won’t mingle until tomorrow night when our tour splits from the train and we head off to the resort in Alice Springs.

I’m using my phone to hotspot this and I’ll post while we still have internet.

Tonight during dinner, the staff will turn this sitting room into a bedroom. The bed is pulled down from the wall. I’m looking forward to being rocked to sleep by the train’s motion tonight. It’ll remind me of the ship to Antarctica.

Dad joke of the day:

I should have saved this one for next September when I’ll be there!

Wednesday W’s #111. The Backyard Beach day.

August 7, 2024 / / 0 Comments

(Scout knows the words ‘walk’, ‘ball’ and ‘beach.’ When they’re combined in a sentence, it’s her FAVOURITE THING.)

What’s top of my mind: QUILTING.

Yes, I’ve fallen down the quilting rabbit hole again. I knew it would happen sometime. A year ago Georgia29 put a lot of work into putting together shelves and other storage for my sewing room. It’s one of the bedrooms that, as soon as it was empty, I cleverly installed a HUGE heavy table that pretty much can’t be moved, so that I’d finally have my own space. Since then, I’ve barely set foot in it.

I started a quilt for my friend Scott last year, but I really wasn’t in the Zone, so it’s been put away to be revisited at another time. Lots of crafty people have what they call ‘WIPs’, which is an acronym for ‘Works in Progress.’ I have some too, but I’m a FINISHER. They all eventually get done.

I’m currently working on a scrap quilt for a friend’s daughter. I started on Friday afternoon and every afternoon since then has been full on at it. Today, I’m determined to finish the top, which in quilting circles is called a ‘flimsy.’ I like that name.

Usually I’d immediately start to sandwich it together with the batting and the backing, but my dearest friend from high school needs a quilt. Her sister is in the last stages of cancer and my friend needs a quilt for comfort.

Fortunate Frogdancer already has the main stage of the flimsy constructed. Years ago, Evan27 chose the fabrics for a yellow and grey quilt and I enthusiastically sewed around double the amount of blocks that I actually needed. I didn’t feel like Fortunate Frogdancer at the time – more like Foolish Frogdancer or Mathermatically-Challenged Frogdancer.

But now I can get going with that one.

I only have 4 weeks until I leave for my Ghan trip. I still have the garden to look after. Argh!

So I took the little woofs for a walk on the beach on this beautiful winter’s day. The rest of the photos will be from here.

Where I’m going: To my sewing room.

I’m a woman on a mission.

Where I’ve been: to the beach.

Obviously.

What I’m reading: Naked City by John Silvester.

Silvester has been a crime journalist for decades, and this book is a collection of his columns talking about criminals, judges, police etc.

It turns out I’m not a fan of his style of writing, but he references crimes that I remember from when I was growing up, so this aspect of the book is interesting. I’m nearly halfway through, so I’ll plough through until the end.

What I’m watching: The Olympics.

Like everyone else in the world, I guess.

What I’m listening to: Jeff panting.

Jeff is Poppy’s litter brother and he’s now 11 years old. He’s been on heart medication for a year or two, but he’s panting an awful lot during the day. We’ve been back from the beach for a good 45 minutes and he’s still panting as if he’s run a race. All he did was walk beside me the whole time. It was Scout who was racing around chasing the ball.

This is a worry. We don’t want to lose him so soon after Poppy. He’s as dumb as a box of bricks but he’s a bundle of love and devotion. And he’s My Boy.

What I’m eating: something from the crockpot.

I’m proud of myself this morning. I know that come dinnertime, I’ll still be wanting to sew. This morning, I threw some things in the crockpot and dinner will be ready when we are. All I have to do is cook some rice in the thermomix.

I also like that so many ingredients are from the garden. Garlic, chilli, pumpkin, spinach, basil, celery… if I butchered my own chooks and grew onions, I’d have the full package!

What I’m planning: how to fit in all the quilting.

I might have to get up earlier in the mornings. Not sure if I’m ready to take so drastic a step.

Who deserves a thumbs-up: Sophie.

Sophie is Tom32’s girlfriend. She’s lovely. They recently moved in together and last weekend she took him skiing. Apparently, it was all going well until Tom32 fell and dislocated his shoulder. This has turned him off the sport slightly.

Sophie has been looking after him beautifully, listening to him whinge and complain and she’s still with him. What a trouper!

What has made me smile: a dinner invitation.

That trip to Antarctica certainly changed lives! Remember Morgan, one of the two French guys? He was the tour leader and he and Baptiste looked after me when I would have been rattling around Ushuaia all on my own.

He’s since become an official tour leader with Young Pioneers and is currently running a tour in the South Pacific. (Hmmm… I’ve never been there and it’s so close to home…) He’ll be in Melbourne next week on his way home and he suggested we catch up.

It made my day.

Dad joke of the day:

Day 25- Canada/Alaska – Home again!

June 17, 2024 / / 11 Comments

Here is the last view from our balcony. What a beautiful sight to wake up to.

I don’t think that any awakening will top our first morning in Banff though, when Megan pulled back the blinds and said, “It’s SNOWING!” That was a great moment.

We went down to breakfast and while we were there, the first announcements came over the speakers for groups of people to depart. The way we board and leave the ship is to tap our room keys on a reader, so that the ship always has an accurate tally of who’s on board or not.

The cruise director’s voice rang out, “Orange and green groups please assemble at the Venetian Lounge for disembarkation. Please remember to bring your room key for that last emotional tap.”

That made us all giggle.

Finally, it was our turn and we boarded the bus for the 2-hour drive from Seward to Anchorage.

It’s funny how people get used to things. These mountains sweeping down to nothing, with crystal-clear water below are utterly spectacular, yet most people near me on the bus were giving cursory looks as we went along. That is, unless the bus driver announced a photo opportunity. Then everyone’s phones were aimed at the windows.

I was uneasily aware that I was coming down with something. I felt like I should nap, but how could I? This was the last chance I was going to have to see these views.

Like – see the reflection in the water? This place is spectacular.

You could paint a picture of this, though maybe without the guardrail!

The sheer acuteness of the angles is something I never tired of seeing. Australia is such an ancient land. Most of our angles have been worn away.

Goodbye, rivers!

We were stopped a few times by roadworks. We heard people say this a few times while we were in Alaska – “There are only two seasons in Alaska – winter and construction!”

It reminded me of when we were wandering around Ushuaia in 2022, waiting to board our ship to Antarctica. Everywhere, people were out patching holes, fixing potholes and working on their houses. They have to make the most of the good weather.

Goodbye, steep mountains!

Captain Cook actually sailed up this inlet. He thought it was a passage to somewhere or other but it wasn’t.

I found the story interesting but I was also starting to feel not great. I wasn’t taking notes.

Mudflats. They’re like quicksand.

Apparently, Anchorage is surrounded by them.

And here we are.

The population of Anchorage is 303,000.

Alaska overall has 750,00 people. This is a very empty state. It’s 1 million square kilometres smaller than Western Australia, but we have more people in WA compared to Alaska.

Imagine Australia having more people than somewhere else!

I have a moose antler in my luggage, so I had to pose.

Naturally, I had Michelle Shocked’s song, “Anchored Down in Anchorage” playing in my head. I challenge anyone who knows the song to go there and not have the same thing happen to them.

These lyrics are a beautiful piece of poetry. I can’t post a link to the song because Michelle Shocked doesn’t have her music on Youtube or Spotify because she doesn’t like the way the artists are paid. She appears to have gone a bit fundy, which is a shame, but these lyrics perfectly capture this woman’s yearnings and isolation.

I took time out to write to my old friend
I walked across that burning bridge
Mailed my letter off to Dallas
But her reply came from Anchorage, Alaska

She said
“Hey girl, it’s about time you wrote
It’s been over two years you know, my old friend
Take me back to the days of the foreign telegrams
And the all-night rock and rollin’… hey Shell
We was wild then

Hey Shell, you know it’s kind of funny
Texas always seemed so big
But you know you’re in the largest state in the union
When you’re anchored down in Anchorage

Hey Girl, I think the last time I saw you
Was on me and Leroy’s wedding day
What was the name of that love song they played?
I forgot how it goes
I don’t recall how it goes

Anchorage
Anchored down in Anchorage

Leroy got a better job so we moved
Kevin lost a tooth now he’s started school
I got a brand new eight month old baby girl
I sound like a housewife
Hey Shell, I think I’m a housewife

Hey Girl, what’s it like to be in New York?
New York City – imagine that!
Tell me, what’s it like to be a skateboard punk rocker?

Leroy says “Send a picture”
Leroy says “Hello”
Leroy says “Oh, keep on rocking, girl”
“yeah, keep on rocking”

Hey Shell, you know it’s kind of funny
Texas always seemed so big
But you know you’re in the largest state in the union
When you’re anchored down in Anchorage
Oh, Anchorage
Anchored down in Anchorage
Oh, Anchorage…

We were actually lucky to be departing today. Yesterday, without explanation, the whole airport and airspace got shut down by the military. (Megan overheard that explanation given to a pilot.) People were left hanging, having to find accommodation for the night.

Megan said that it wouldn’t have been a big deal – we’d find a room then go out and explore Anchorage. She’s right, but once I have my nose turned towards home, I want to get there ASAP. Plus, I was retreating within myself. I was getting sick.

After the worst trip home on a plane I’ve ever had, I returned to these little woofs.

Poor Georgia! After looking after them and dealing with poor Poppy’s death, I’m sure she was expecting me to come in and take over the reins. Instead, I staggered in, took a 4-hour nap, then stayed pretty much on the couch and slept for the next week.

We had the opportunity to adopt a 5-year-old dachshund from the shelter Blogless Sandy worked in. We tried, but after 4 days we had to take him back after he wasn’t listening to the older dogs in our pack. That was sad.

I’m still missing my Poppy, though I can say hello to the group of irises that are planted atop. The other two are growing closer. Scout even lets Jeff sleep beside her now. A few days after I got back, I turned to Georgia and said, “We haven’t talked about Poppy yet.” We both had a good cry and felt so much better.

So it’s been a week since I came home. I’m just about feeling human again and that’s a relief!

Would I recommend going to Canada and Alaska?

Absolutely! They’re easy places to travel to, given all the similarities between us and them. The wildlife and scenery are spectacular. The feelings of awe and absolute delight when I saw them are things I will never forget.

What about the luxury ship?

It was expensive, but EVERYTHING was included. After having to self-cater for the two-week Canada trip, it was a relief to relax and just eat and drink whatever I wanted. The dining was exquisite, and even though I’m not a ‘foodie’ I still thoroughly enjoyed the tastes and, frankly, the feeling of being pampered. That hasn’t happened much in my life up till now.

I was also glad we weren’t on one of those ENORMOUS ships with 5,000 passengers. For me, that’s far too big. Our ship had around 500 passengers, which seems large enough for me. In September next year, I’ll be back on the Hondius on my way to Greenland. She only carries around 120 passengers.

On the way home, on the train, Megan and I agreed that we’d travel together again. Honestly, if our worst fight was about what a pavilion/rotunda/gazebo is called, that’s pretty damned good. We respected each other’s space and little habits – at least I did. I’m sure Megan found no problems at all with me. I have no irritating little ways.

Haha! I know she’ll read this and her eyebrow will rise almost to the top of her head.

I think the best thing we did was to sometimes spend our days apart doing different things. We each had our little adventures and had some space. I’d definitely recommend doing this if you and a friend are thinking about travelling together.

All in all – it was a very successful holiday and it was my 7TH CONTINENT. It feels unreasonably satisfying to tick this off the list. Now, I’m going to double- back and spend the next couple of decades zeroing in on where I feel like going.

The list is (so far) as follows:

  1. September 2024 – My trip on the Ghan, with a week in the Red Centre and a week at the Top End. To be honest, this is another ‘Tick off the list’ trip. It’s Unaustralian not to have seen these places.
  2. November 2024 – My crazy road trip with Liga from Latvia, who is coming over to complete HER last continent. This will be a 2-week drive to see as much as possible.
  3. December 2024 – a week by myself in the Snowy Mountains. I’ll probably need this to recover from #2!
  4. February 2025 – Vietnam for 2 weeks.
  5. March 2024 – Japan for 2 weeks.
  6. April 2025 – Tanzania, Kenya and Zanzibar. Yes, I’ll be back in Africa!
  7. September 2025 – Iceland/Greenland/Scandinavia. I’ll be gone for the whole month.

Thanks for following along with me. I enjoy writing these travel blogs so much. I initially started writing them in 2015 for the kids, but absolutely no one from my family reads them. I’m glad to have had your company along the way.

So it’s back to regular blogging for a while.

xx

Day 24 – Canada/Alaska: Valdez… pronounced ‘Valdeeeez.’

June 16, 2024 / / 2 Comments

This is what we woke up to this morning. The Silver Muse was still making her way towards the docks at Valdez. The air was fairly cold but it was all utterly serene.

This was the view from our balcony once we docked. It looked almost like someone could drive right on up to the ship!

At breakfast, I was talking to a lovely American couple that we met on the first day. She was saying that they have a helicopter flight to the glacier booked for 10 AM, but the clouds look to be too low.

“My husband Hank’s a pilot. He said that even if they say it’s ok to fly, we’re absolutely not going. It’s a shame because it was so expensive.”

I was so glad I chose to do mine earlier in Juneau! Those clouds look beautiful and mysterious, but not so wonderful when you want to fly.

We were loaded onto a full-sized coach and off we went. We drove out of downtown Valdez pretty quickly, though Faith, our guide, informed us that there used to be an old town and a new one.

“The old town was set a little ways out of New Valsez,” she said. “It was destroyed by a 9.1 Richter earthquake on Good Friday in 1964. The epicentre was only 40 miles from here.”

That must have been awful. The people were given 3 years by the government to move their homes onto the new site. Two wealthy families in the town gave people land in the new town so that they could afford to move.

The water in this place is everywhere.

We turned down the road that would have led to the old town of Valdez. Our tour guide kept telling us where things used to be, which struck me as a bit odd. She said she’d been here for 13 years, so it wasn’t as if she had a personal memory of the old bank… the hotel… etc.

Everything was just reclaimed forest land.

Then she said something which blew my mind. She talked about the Exxon-Valdez accident – you know… that oil spill that killed hundreds of thousands of birds and animals and shocked the entire world?

I hadn’t put the two together in my mind, since until last night I’d not been pronouncing it as “Valdeez”.

See those two ships? They’re always there, ready to start a clean-up in case it ever happens again. They have ships like this positioned all around where the oil tankers sail.

 If you look at the mountainside you’ll see a little series almost like a long dotted line with white on the top. That’s part of the tank farm that is Alyeska, which is the terminus for the Trans-Alaska pipeline.

And that is where the Exxon Valdez left, from the terminus, on Good Friday February 28 1989. She left the port and ran aground on the reef just outside. 

“So we are known for the pipeline, we are known for being settled by prospectors, we’re known for the Exxon-Valdez and we’re also known for the 1964 earthquake.”

Weirdly, the earthquake also happened on Good Friday.

This was so exciting. A guy sitting at the front of the bus saw a bear racing across a field. It was running full pelt. He yelled out and the front part of the bus was able to see it running across the road.

I taught half the bus how to air drop (thanks, Antarctica pals!) when I sent everyone the crappy photos I was able to take. Then, half an hour later, I was air dropped this video.

A thing I like about travelling in Canada and Alaska is that so many highways run beside rivers.

I couldn’t believe the height of the snow beside the road. This was at my eye-level in the coach!

As we got further into the pass, we started driving into cloud. I was reminded of the day in Ireland when we were driving around trying to see the Ring of Kerry through all of the rain.

I felt for my American friend and her lost helicopter ride.

Here is the glacier.

It’s tucked back a bit behind the foothills. After yesterday’s viewing, it was a bit of an anticlimax. I dutifully took a few photos, then turned around and saw this:

Look at how much snow is lying on this pass.

IT’S SUMMER. This place gets ridiculous amounts of snow every year. It’s the snowiest town in Alaska. The record for snowfall in a single day is 5’8″/176cms – which is taller than I am! In 1989/90, they had an incredible 46 feet/1,402 cms of snow.

I cannot ever conceive of living here. It takes a special breed of person.

Remember yesterday when I showed you the poles that were set up on either side of the road in Haines, to guide the snow ploughs?

These things tower over the bus. They have a reflective strip at the top so that people driving in the Pass during winter can still find the road.

“Everyone living in these parts has a white-knuckle story of driving through here in winter,” said Faith.

We drove for a little while longer, then got off at the Pass. It was stunning.

The first thing I noticed was this cute little caravan parked at the edge.

The views went on and on.

“If any of you want to come here in the summer,” Faith said, “I’ll happily hike with you all the way down to the bottom of the pass. with the third-graders”

That’s a hard no from me.

I air-dropped this one to the woman I caught taking a photo. I really like this one.

After a little while, we hit the road again.

Greenery started to appear as we went lower.

We were heading to a place on the highway that has lots of waterfalls. We passed them on the way up, but it’s easier to park when you’re driving on this side of the road.

This video is worth listening to, just to hear Faith talking about what the locals do here at Bridal Falls when the waterfalls freeze in the winter.

And here is Horsetail Falls, just 2 minutes down the road.

This shot was taken by a guy who was showing me hw much better his phone was at taking pictures than mine was.

I think I’ll be getting a new phone soon and giving my current one to Mum. Her phone is so ancient that it’s still on 3G, which is getting cancelled in September.

I walked towards the road to take this shot. Scared myself silly when a car shot by me out of nowhere.

Honestly – the North Americans, the Chinese and the Europeans should get their acts together and drive on the proper side of the road!

It’s so pretty.

Here’s the Silver Muse through the windscreen of the bus.

I passed Megan on the gangway, as she was headed into town. She had an hour or so to kill before her bus trip started. I went to the room and yes – our cases were out, and Megan’s was already zipped up, ready to go.

This was really our last day.

So I had my last lunchtime bubby in the café on deck 8.

Meanwhile, Megan was sending me photos of her discoveries down in the town:

Yes, really.

O always thought that Americans didn’t like to swear, but here we are.

I found this one very interesting. What an awful life these women must have endured!

And finally, in the museum, Megan found this. A fur fish.

She helpfully enlarged the blurb about this rare creature:

One last fun fact about Valdez – Commander Will Ryker, from Star Trek Next Generation, will be born here in 2335.

For our last dinner we went back to the restaurant that had my favourite staff member, Amit. We saw him at every breakfast too. He was so funny.

I slipped him the last of my Canadian money. The ship was heading back to Vancouver so I knew he’d be able to use it. I kept my remaining 25 USD to give to Evan27 – as he’s leaving for the US a few days after I get back.

This restaurant also had the best garlic naan I’ve ever tasted.

omg. Worth the price of the cruise.

When we went back to the room we settled into a movie – ‘Gentleman Prefer Blondes’ with Marilyn Monroe singing ‘Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.’

I had that song in my head until we hit Anchorage the next morning.

(One more post for this trip!)

Dad joke of the day:

Day 23 – Canada/Alaska: Glacier Bay.

June 14, 2024 / / 2 Comments

This turned out to be a very special morning. I saw a glacier calving!

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

See that line of ice level with my eyes? That’s the glacier, and you can see its reflection directly underneath. This glacier is falling into the sea.

The voice of the glacier expert came ringing out of the loudspeakers as I walked down the corridor to get to what I thought would be the least crowded place to see this beautiful thing.

“If you have a camera, now is the place to use it! Now is the time! It doesn’t get better than this! I’ve been here hundreds of times but I’ve never seen this place bathed in sunlight like it is today!”

This was a sea day, but in the morning we spent a few hours in Glacier Bay.

The Hubbard Glacier is 600 feet high, 70 miles long and 70 miles wide. It was stunning. I walked to a place on the deck of the 9th floor and I was with only 4 other people.

I took out my phone and began snapping away, happy as a clam.

The glacier wasn’t the only beautiful scene here. The sun’s coming through the clouds! Fortunate Frogdancer is here…

You can see the glacier – the glassy blue-green strip just above the water to the right. I took so many photos trying to capture the different shades of blue in the ice, but it’s something that’s best seen by the naked eye.

The water in front of the glacier was filled with chunks of ice that had broken away. Some of them had decorative seagulls.

This video was taken when the captain began his final turn in front of the glacier. Most people had had their fill of the sight and had gone inside again, where it was warm.

Then, as soon as I put my phone in my pocket after taking this video – I saw movement on the face of the glacier!

I saw a piece of it fall into the water and then, when I had my phone recording again, I heard the noise.

I know… I was excited. This only shows the aftermath.

But I was so happy. I couldn’t believe that so many people had gone inside and had missed it. But then I felt it – the cold.

It was bloody freezing.

I went inside to the bar. The warmth that hit me when the doors opened was exquisite. I really should have taken the extra 5 seconds to grab a coat before I left the room, but it didn’t feel that cold when I was all excited.

I was inside in the warm room looking out of the window at the view, thinking,’ Oh, I’ll just stay in here from now on.’

Two seconds later, I gave myself a good talking-to. When am I ever going to be at eye-level with a glacier again? Get out there, girl! Who cares if it’s freezing? Besides – they have heaters out there!

I walked outside and stood strategically under this heater. The rest of me was still chilly but by god – my forehead was warm. I could still see the glacier.

This was where Megan found me.

“I’ve been looking for you for ages!” she said.

“Oh yeah, why?” I asked.

She used no words, just held up my door key. Yes, along with my coat, I’d left my door key in the room. Poor Megan had walked from vantage point to vantage point trying to find me. It’s not all bad though – she walked another 3,000 steps, so her watch says.

We swapped notes on what we’d seen, then she headed off. I hunkered down as the ship began to leave the bay. It was going along a different side to what I expected and soon I saw why – sea lions!

Can’t see? Let me zoom in for you.

How exciting!

This was just to the right of the glacier.

You can see the glacier popping up for a last goodbye as we left.

I felt like I felt in Antarctica – these birds and animals live in such beautiful places. It’s unrealistic to expect them to gaze upon these views with a human’s appreciation of their beauty, but a small part of me hopes they feel at least something.

Just as I was about to call it a day, I smelled… paint. This is how these cruise ships always look so white and clean. They’re constantly being touched up.

After all this excitement, I needed a lunchtime glass of bubbly to calm me down.

Early on in this cruise, we were invited to a gathering on the last sea day. Tonight was the night!

Megan wasn’t all that fussed about going. She wasn’t very taken with Jude, but I was interested in going for two reasons.

  1. This woman had a suite on the same floor as us. It was a step up. I was curious to see what it was like.
  2. Jude was doing what I’d like to do – TRAVEL whenever and however she wanted. She obviously has a lot more disposable income than I do, but the basic premise is the same.

She’d mentioned that this was her EIGHTEENTH Silverseas cruise. omg. Cruising is obviously her preferred method of travel as she does 3 or 4 a year, but “I like to take a land cruise at least once a year, as you can’t see everything from the deck of a ship.”

So we went to her suite at 7 PM, where her butler had set up a table with nibbles. Her bar was well-stocked. When I saw this, it dawned on me that maybe we’d been under-utilising our Ruby!

Another woman called Taffy from New York was there as well, so the four of us sat, ate and chatted. I would’ve added ‘drank’ to that, but Megan told me later that when she asked Jude for water rather than alcohol, Jude served her nothing.

Apparently, fish pee in water and ducks swim in it. Or something.

After a while, we went up to deck 10 where the outdoor restaurant is. It’s a bit of fun – you order your protein and they bring a hot stone that you can cook your meal on. If you don’t want to cook, their chef is there to do the hard work for you.

Taffy and Jude decided to split the fish of the day between them, as well as get some steak each. Megan went with the lamb chops, while I decided to go with ‘surf and turf’ – 3 king prawns and a filet mignon.

I’ve never had filet mignon before, and now was the time to try it – when it was free.

I wasn’t expecting such a massive chunk of meat. You could choke a rottweiler with this!

I decided my best bet was to cook it on every last surface I could find, then work my way in.

It was glorious! So tender! The prawns were amazing too, but this steak was divine.

I asked Jude if I could take her photo.

“Oh no, I hate having my photo taken.” I asked her approval for this one though. She gave it.

This was after the meal was done and Jude and Taffy decided to go down to one of the lounges. Oof.

They are nice women… but the level of entitlement was uncomfortable to be around. They thought nothing of asking the staff to do ridiculous things.

Taffy wanted a particular type of ice cream that wasn’t among the 10 flavours already on deck 10 – someone had to go down to deck 4 to get her the flavour she wanted.

Jude wanted a small puddle at her feet taken care of because “I don’t have socks on.” I offered to swap places with her because I was wearing my boots, but “no, I like to sit by the window to look at the sea.” The staff brought towels for her and she made a guy go on his hands and knees to put the towels around her feet over the puddle.

They were complaining a lot about the level of service. I don’t know… some of it might have been warranted but most of it seemed pretty petty to me. The fact that we’re able to travel to these parts of the world is so privileged, yet they’re nit-picking.

It reminded me of when I asked the man at the dog training camp what the town thought of the cruise ships. He laughed and said, “We think they’re full of retirees who complain about everything.”

Only one more full day left!

Dad joke of the day”

Day 21- Canada/Alaska: Juneau part 2 – the DOGS!

June 7, 2024 / / 0 Comments

At 5:30 that afternoon, we all gathered together for a minibus ride deep into the hills to see the dog camp.

During the day we bumped into other people who had been there before us. They all raved about how good it was. Both Megan and I wore our old clothes so we could get covered in dog hair and it wouldn’t matter, and we were set to go.

The trail to the camp was narrow and very exacting for the driver. The forest was deep all around us as we went higher and higher. The campus is about 1,000 feet up, which is a steep climb, considering that the city of Juneau is only 36 feet up from sea level.

It was an old goldmine back in the day but this is about the only flat space around, so these people have leased the land from the old gold mining company as a dog training camp. It’s been here for about 20 years. 

The dogs are bred for performance not for looks, so unlike the traditional Siberian husky who are pretty useless at racing, these ones are built for performance and strength. 

175 dogs live here during the summer. The dogs are built to enjoy extreme cold, so bringing them here is a kindness. The summers are far too hot for them where they come from. Each doghouse is a different colour – depending on who owns the dogs. The red houses , for example, belong to the 47 dogs that one woman here owns.

Sledding dogs is a whole lifestyle for the owners. This is a real training camp. The dogs come here and haul fat tourists like us around all day on carts that they have to drag along the ground. This builds them up beautifully. When the’re suddenly in the snow in winter, dragging only one person in a proper racing sleigh, they go FAST.

You’d expect a working dog to be a serious being, but they’re not. We were warned not to get too close, because the dogs will hurl themselves at you, demanding cuddles and pats, and these dogs are strong.

“Even now, when I’ve been working with them for years, if one catches me unawares, they can send me flying,” said Jake, who was our driver.

As soon as we arrived, eeryone noticed this enticing sign.

“Now, no one sneak off and have a look at the puppies,” said the woman with the 47 dogs. “We have them right at the end of thetour, because we know that if we let you go there first, none of you will want to see anything else!”

It’s Alaskan law that every dog has to have its own house, and it has to be chained to that house when its not working.

“In Oregon, where I live,” said Jake, “we have a huge open farm and the dogs can run where they like. But here, they have to live on a chain. It happened because some dogs in very remote communities got too protective and they went after children. It doeasn’t bother them too much and here, they’re out training two or three times a day.”

Sophie was taking it easy.

I was subconsciously expecting huskies before I arrived, but of course for racing dogs, the only thing these people care about in their breeding programs is speed and health. These animals have to perform in extreme conditions. They’ve used Greyhounds, Salukis and other racing dogs over the years, but basically what they’re looking for is speed, endurance, (especially if they do the really long races like the Iditarod), and intelligence. They have to be able to work in a team.

Jeffrey would have no hope!

Someone asked why this dog was up on a platform.

“Oh, that’s because when he got here, he started eating rocks,” said Jake. “He ate so many that he got backed up and he had to have an operation to get them out. It cost thousands of dollars. But he deserves his little throne. He’s a good dog.”

I know I love my dogs, but these people here live tfor them. They live beside them here in tents in the summer, they take all 47 of them travelling and they speak of them individually with so much affection.

It was a lovely thing to see.

The first group was called out and we were part of it. Here are the dogs who were waiting to take us out.

The noise was incredible! These ones were excited because they knew they were going to have a run, while the others were all barking in protest because they wanted to get out too.

These dogs LOVE their work. Watch this next video – it’s the first part of our run. When we were asked who wanted to sit in the front seat, of course I was leaping up before the guy had finished his sentence. I wanted to see it all! Megan, who is tall, isn’t (yet) used to frontside viewing. She sat beside me in the front seat but scrunched down a bit for the sake of the people behind.

It was so much fun!

The front dogs were called Georgia (on the left) and Ranger. He was there for the muscle and she was there for her intelligence.

Both of them are great at ignoring things that a normal dog would find impossible to resist. A bird flew across the path and into the trees, but these two just kept going forward.

“The wrong dog would have pulled us into the trees!” said Jake.

Every now and then Jake wuld pull over the team for a rest. He said that even in the summer in Alaska, they have to guard against the dogs getting too warm.

“Too cold isn’t usually a problem, ” he said. “It’s when they get too warm that they start having issues. Occasionally we give them an opportunity to cool down and collect their sanity but they don’t really know the concept of stop. That’s why they get anxious. The other dogs run this path earlier so never mind about stopping to cool down! They’re thinking it’s a race and they’re trying to chase down this other teams. That’s how we do it. Follow the scent of the ones before and then once we get confirmation, we catch up and go past them. That’s where the hound comes in, it’s pure instinct.”

He got down off the cart, as a couple of the dogs had jumped around so much in excitement that they’d got a bit tangled. As he was doing that, the back two dogs swapped sides without him seeing. Earlier he’d said that the big black dog was trying to intimidate other dogs – he is two years old and feeling his oats – so he’d put him next to a very stable-natured girl. When he jumped over, she simply looked at him, raised and eyebrow and swapped to the other side without any fuss.

He pointed to the waterfall behind him.

“See that puddle they’re lying in? We built that specially for them. They’re standing in this water and lying down and it helps cool them down rapidly. Drinking helps cool them internally, The snow is now melting in the spring, and that waterfall is melting glacier water and that’s what we’re pumping to this puddle so it’s just a few degrees above freezing. It’s very cold. Brings down their body temperature is really quickly. You can see Georgia up front just lying down in it.”

In a surprisingly short space of time the team were all jumping up and down and barking to be let go again.

They absolutely love it!

These dogs are fed once a day, after the last tour has gone. The handlers are very conscious of gastric torsion, which can kill a dog in a matter of hours, so they take very good care to feed them only after all exercise is done for the day. That includes when they’re racing.

They eat a huge amount of calories every day, but they burn it all off, especially when they’re racing in the winter.

They’re all muscle.

They’re bred to thrive in harsh climates for winter.

“These guys can go 100 miles a day. They take breaks, which just means to walk at a really moderate slow pace every 5 to 50 miles, depending on how long the race is. We’re here for the summer but our actual kennel is in central Oregon.”

You can see the husky eyes on Ranger. I don’t know if I like the blue eyes on a dog – I’m not used to it.

But he and Georgia were good dogs. Even though they’d just pulled us around two miles of track, the team was ready to go out again.

“This 2 mile track is nothing to them,” said Jake.

Here are some boots for the dogs, which they need when the temperature goes down to NEGATIVE 30 and beyond.

omg.

“It’s a delicate balance,” said Jake. “If you put the boots on too early, you’ll harm your dogs because one of the most efficient ways they cool down is through their feet. If you put the boots on too early, you’ll heat them up and they’ll suffer. If you leave them too long without them, their feet will get ice between the pads and they’ll get cut on the ice.”

Finally we got to see the puppies. Megan was in her element.

There were 3 litters here – one that had 12 week old pups and two litters that were one week old.

Interestingly, none of these litters are owned by the people here. Owners bring theor puppies here to be socialised by all the tourists. What a great idea! Almost from birth, these dogs are getting used to being handled by a multitude of people. Their temperaments will be bomb-proof!

The 12 week old litter had 4 girls and a boy, so the staff here have given them nicknmes from ‘The Office.’ This one is Dwight.

It was strange. I thought I’d be all over the dogs but once I was here, I wasn’t at all. I patted the team who took us around the track, but I didn’t want to cuddle the puppies.

I think I wanted MY dogs, all three of them.

However, it was a different thing when they brought out the babies.

Their eyes weren’t open yet and they were still making that squeaking sound very young puppies make. I remember it from when I used to breed puppies, in the years before I started breeding humans.

On the way back to town, we saw a porcupine walking along the road.

No bears. I’m starting to believe that bears are very rare here and that it’s all a big lie to entice tourists over here.

We ate at an Italian-themed restaurant on the ship this evening and joined up with a lively group of people out on the deck afterwards.

Goodbye Juneau! I’m sorry I didn’t get to catch up with Rae, but the rest of it was fun.

Dad joke of the day:

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